Psystar, Apple reach settlement: No more PCs pre-loaded with Mac OS X (but Rebel EFI may be safe)

rebelefi

Some more Psystar news for y’all. You’ll recall that the renegade company was more or less shut down last week, slapped with an injunction and expected to pay Apple an awful lot of money. Put all of that aside for a minute, for there’s new news: Apple and Psystar have struck a deal! The deal, which ends a 17-month-long legal battle, means Psystar will stop selling computers pre-loaded with Mac OS X. This ends our long, national nightmare.

So here’s what happens: Psystar has to pay Apple a boatload of money; Psystar will stop selling PCs pre-loaded with Mac OS X; and Psystar may be allowed to keep selling Rebel EFI, which lets users instal Mac OS X on their generic PC. That’s pretty much it.

Or, in a single sentence, Psystar won’t be allowed to sell PCs with Mac OS X pre-loaded, but may be allowed to sell the $50 Rebel EFI, software that lets people instal Mac OS X on regular PCs.

Or, rather than paying for Rebel EFI, you can OSx86 your PC, which I may well do when I get around to building my PC in the coming weeks. I’m either running Linux or Mac on the PC. I’ll be damned if I have to run Windows 24/7!